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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Police acquitted over NY shooting | Police acquitted over NY shooting |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| A judge in New York has acquitted three police officers who shot dead an unarmed man hours before his wedding. | A judge in New York has acquitted three police officers who shot dead an unarmed man hours before his wedding. |
| Sean Bell, 23, was shot after a bachelor party at a strip club in the suburb of Queens in November 2006. | Sean Bell, 23, was shot after a bachelor party at a strip club in the suburb of Queens in November 2006. |
| Two detectives, Michael Oliver and Gescard Isnora, faced charges of manslaughter. A third, Marc Cooper, had been accused of reckless endangerment. | |
| In a packed Queens courtroom, Supreme Court Justice Arthur Cooperman cleared the three men of all charges. | |
| The case had generated accusations of police racism and brutality. | |
| Shouts of "No!" erupted in the crowd outside the courthouse as word of the verdict spread, said reports. Some people wept on each other's shoulders. | |
| Protesters were angered by revelations that the officers had fired 50 shots between them - a use of force they argued was excessive. | |
| But the police officers insisted they suspected one of Bell's companions was armed. |